Carabao Cup semi-final draw: Holders Newcastle United to play Manchester City, Chelsea to meet Arsenal or Crystal Palace
AFNEWS reporter
Dec 18, 2025
Carabao Cup semi-final draw: Holders Newcastle United to play Manchester City, Chelsea to meet Arsenal or Crystal Palace
The draw has taken place for the Carabao Cup semi-finals, with defending champions Newcastle United to meet Manchester City. Meanwhile, Chelsea will play either Premier League leaders Arsenal or Oliver Glasner's Crystal Palace in the last four. The first legs will be played on the week of January 12, with the second legs on the week of February 2.
Chelsea will play Arsenal or Crystal Palace, while Newcastle face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
The draw took place on Wednesday night after Manchester City's match against Brentford in the quarter-finals, and defending champions Newcastle United's last-eight clash at home to Fulham.
City enjoyed a relatively straightforward win at the Etihad, as goals from Rayan Cherki and Savinho gave them a 2-0 victory to send them into the final four of the competition, which represents the first opportunity of the season to win major silverware for an English side.
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City manager Pep Guardiola praised Cherki for his goal, a fine effort from a clearance, saying: "Close to the 18-yard box of the opponent he is an exceptional player.
"It was a fantastic goal. He is a fantastic, fantastic player. I saw it many times with Phil [Foden], this type of goal, and with Kevin [De Bruyne] before, so I am happy that it opened the game."
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Newcastle defeated Fulham 2-1 at St James' Park, and earned their victory in more dramatic fashion.
Yoane Wissa scored after just 10 minutes as he continued his return from injury after a summer move from Brentford.
Fulham's Serbian midfielder Sasa Lukic levelled just six minutes later, and Newcastle had to wait two minutes into stoppage time before youngster Lewis Miley struck the winning goal.
Manager Eddie Howe was pleased for Miley, telling Sky Sports: "Brilliant performance from a talented young player. He hasn't played right-back a lot and had to take on a lot of information this morning, so he did really well.
"He's here on merit, he believes that he's more than good enough to play at this level. Not just play but excel, and he's taking his game to another level and I think we're seeing that now."
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Chelsea played Cardiff on Tuesday night, and Alejandro Garnacho's brace as well as Pedro Neto's goal gave them a 3-1 win in south Wales. David Turnbull scored for the home side.
Arsenal play Crystal Palace in the last remaining quarter-final, at the Emirates Stadium. The tie will go ahead next Tuesday, December 23. The winner will face Chelsea in the semi-final, with the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Newcastle will host City in the first match, with the second match taking place at the Etihad Stadium.
The first legs of the semis will be played on the week of January 12, and the second legs will go ahead on the week of February 2.
Carabao Cup semi-final draw
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Chelsea v Arsenal or Crystal Palace
Newcastle v Manchester City
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— AFNEWS reporter